He is Liverpool FC's ever striker with a haul of 346 goals in all competitions over two spells with the Reds, but Ian Rush initially turned down the chance to join the Merseyside giants.

As an 18-year-old striker who had risen through the ranks at Chester FC , Rush was making a big impression at Sealand Road with a string of fine performances and some clinical finishing generating plenty of interest.

Fourteen goals in 34 games between 1978 and 1980 eventually saw him make the move to Anfield to link up with legendary manager Bob Paisley in a £300,000 deal , but it would take some persuasion to actually get him to put pen to paper.

Under the stewardship of Manchester City and Chester great Alan Oakes, Rush wasn't too keen on making the switch at first, revealing that he turned down the Reds' advances initially.

Speaking on his return to Chester for Thursday night's all-star fundraiser that included the likes of Michael Owen, Rush said: "I started at the club when I was 14, signed apprentice when I was 16 and I was here until I was 18.

"I have some great memories of the club, some that you'll never forget and I had some great managers and coaches to help me along the way.

"Cliff Sear was fantastic, he was the one that made me to be honest.

"When I was a kid I was shy and didn't have the confidence but Cliff made me feel comfortable and playing in a friendly environment.

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"Alan Oakes was fantastic when he was manager, he threw me in I thought at the time too early but it proved not to be.

"Those two people, I have some great memories.

"Alan Oakes pulled me to one side and said Liverpool were interested. I turned them down at first to tell you the truth because I was happy at Chester. Three or four weeks later Alan Oakes told me to bring my dad and that we would go over to Melwood and meet Bob Paisley.

Ian Rush signs an autograph for a fan (Image: Terry Marland)

"When I went to Melwood and saw the training facilities, Bob Paisley was fantastic and didn't go over the top and treated me like everyone else, and my dad was a Liverpool supporter!

"Alan Oakes said 'if you go there and don't enjoy it then you can always come back to Chester', that's the reason I went. Lucky enough I improved when I was at Liverpool!"

Rush was asked to get involved in the all-star game at the Swansway Chester Stadium by BBC broadcaster Colin Murray, who along with Chester-born Owen had put together an all-star team to take on a Chester Select XI to raise much-needed funds for the cash-strapped Blues.

The evening, which attracted a crowd of over 2,000, raised £25,000 and took the fighting fund past the £75,000 mark, a figure that guarantees the short-term survival of the club, although more fundraising is required to aid a more prosperous future beyond the end of the current campaign.

And Rush, who also managed Chester City during the 2004/2005 season, made a late cameo for the all-star team and was only too happy to help out the team where his footballing odyssey, that also took in spells at Juventus, Leeds United and Newcastle United, all began.

Said Rush: "It is something to say I played for Chester and was manager here.

"This is the bread and butter, this is the grassroots, and if you lose grassroots then you lose everything.

"People develop at different ages and for me it was a great chance and a great apprenticeship when I came to Chester. I had some great coaches at Chester and it's all about the grassroots. Everybody looks at the top, but to be at the top you have to realise it begins at the grassroots level.